₹55 Lakh Promise, ₹23.2 Lakh Loss: Retired Nagpur Official Falls For Fake Antique Currency Deal

Mumbai: A 66-year-old retired government official was allegedly defrauded of Rs 23.2 lakh by cyber-criminals who lured him with a fake offer to buy old currency notes and coins from him for an exorbitant price.

The cyber police has launched an intensive investigation following a formal complaint registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP) by the victim, who hails from Nagpur. According to police sources, the fraud began on August 30, 2026, when the victim clicked on a Facebook advertisement promising high returns for antique currency.

Shortly after interacting with the advertisement, the victim received a call from an unknown mobile number and was added to a WhatsApp group. The scammers offered a massive payout of Rs 55.21 lakh in exchange for the victim's collection of old notes. The fraudulent scheme escalated the following day when the suspects demanded an initial registration fee of Rs 550.

Over the next two weeks, the fraudsters generated a series of forged government documents, including fake income tax clearances, insurance papers, and counterfeit government stamps, to convince the victim to pay processing fees and taxes. Believing the documents to be legitimate, the victim transferred a total of Rs 23.26 lakh in different bank accounts provided by the scammers between August 30 and September 17, 2026.

The victim realized the deception after the suspects continuously demanded more money without delivering the promised payout. A formal complaint was subsequently filed by the victim. The police have registered a case against the unknown operators of the WhatsApp group as well as the beneficiaries of the bank accounts involved.

A case has been registered by the police under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 336 (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act in the matter.

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